More than 300 arrested in Greece for starting forest fires since beginning of year

More than 300 people have been arrested in Greece since the beginning of the year for starting forest fires across the country, most of which were caused by negligence, fire service spokesman Yannis Artopios said on ERT News.

“As part of investigations into the causes of fires, 308 arrests have been made. Of these, 272 relate to incidents linked to negligence and 36 to deliberate acts. The data show that negligence remains the main cause of fires in the country, making prevention and responsible behaviour by citizens all the more important,” Artopios said.

The fire service is on heightened operational alert due to high temperatures and strong winds expected in the coming days, the spokesman said.

In recent months, hot weather and strong winds have caused dozens of fires to break out every day in forests and agricultural areas across Greece, most of which firefighters extinguished within one or two days. An exception was a major forest fire in the region of Boeotia and western Attica, which lasted from July 31 to August 4 and destroyed 11,300 hectares of forest.